Course overview
Southampton is one of the busiest construction markets on the south coast, and site managers here are rarely short of work. The city’s waterfront regeneration, the ongoing activity around the port and the container terminals, the residential schemes filling in around Ocean Village, Woolston and Centenary Quay, and the steady flow of commercial and infrastructure work along the M27 and M3 corridor all put a premium on managers who can run a site safely and prove they are qualified to do it. The CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) is the certificate that principal contractors and clients across the city expect to see before they hand someone overall responsibility for a project.
Our SMSTS course is delivered live online over a Zoom video link, which means you can qualify without leaving Southampton and without losing a week to travel. Whether you are based near the docks in Millbrook, working a housing scheme out towards Hedge End and Whiteley, or running a fit-out in the city centre around Above Bar and the Bargate quarter, you join the same tutor-led classroom from your home, your site cabin or your office. The qualification you earn is the nationally recognised CITB SMSTS certificate, exactly the same as the one delivered in a physical classroom, and it carries the same weight on a site in Southampton as it does anywhere else in the country.
The course costs £430 and runs over five consecutive days. It is written for the people who plan, coordinate and oversee construction work, and it is built around the real decisions a site manager takes rather than theory for its own sake. If you are stepping up into a management role on a Hampshire project, or you have been carrying the responsibility for a while and now need the certificate to match, this is the course that puts your competence in the form the industry recognises.
Southampton’s construction workload is unusually varied, which is part of what makes solid site management such a priority here. On one side of the city you have the maritime and logistics estate around the docks, Millbrook and Redbridge, where warehousing, distribution and port-related work keep a constant pipeline of projects moving. On the other, you have dense residential and mixed-use development reshaping the waterfront at Ocean Village, Woolston and Northam, along with student and university-related building around Highfield and Portswood. Add the retail and leisure work anchored by the West Quay area, the health estate around Southampton General, and the commercial and industrial schemes spreading out through Eastleigh, Hedge End, Whiteley and Fareham, and it is easy to see why competent, certificated site managers are consistently in demand across the Solent. Every one of those environments carries its own mix of hazards, and the SMSTS gives you the grounding to manage them lawfully whichever type of project you land on next.
Who the SMSTS course is for
The SMSTS is aimed at anyone who holds, or is about to hold, overall responsibility for health and safety on a construction site. In and around Southampton that typically means:
- Site managers running housing, commercial or infrastructure projects across the city and the wider Solent region
- Project managers coordinating work on schemes from Ocean Village and the waterfront through to the industrial estates around Nursling and Totton
- Site supervisors stepping up into a management role who need to formalise the responsibility they already carry
- Business owners and directors of contracting firms who oversee sites directly and need to demonstrate competence to clients
- Agents and contracts managers moving between jobs across Hampshire who need a current certificate to satisfy principal contractors
It sits above the two-day SSSTS, which is written for site supervisors and first-line managers. If you supervise a team or a single work area, the SSSTS is the right level for you. If you carry responsibility for a whole site, the SMSTS is the qualification the industry will ask for. No formal qualifications are needed to book, though some site experience helps you get the most out of the five days.
In practice, most delegates on a Southampton SMSTS come to it at a turning point in their career. Some have been promoted from a supervisory role after years on the tools and now find that a main contractor will not confirm them as site manager until the certificate is in place. Others are experienced managers whose previous certificate is coming up for expiry, or who are moving from one employer to another and need current, portable proof of competence to start on a new job. There are also directors of smaller Southampton contracting firms who run their own sites day to day and need to be able to show clients that the person in charge is properly qualified. Wherever you sit on that list, the course is pitched at people who already understand construction and now need the formal grounding in health and safety management to match the responsibility they carry.
What you’ll learn
Over the five days you cover the full CITB syllabus, framed around the practical duties a site manager handles every day. The course gives you a working understanding of health and safety law and how it applies on site, the CDM Regulations and how a manager discharges them, and how to produce, review and brief risk assessments and method statements that actually work in practice.
You also look at managing high-risk activities that come up constantly on Southampton projects, from working at height and scaffolding through to excavations, groundworks, temporary works and confined spaces. The programme covers behavioural safety and building a positive site culture, managing occupational health and worker wellbeing, and keeping on top of current best practice as standards move on. The emphasis throughout is on applying what you learn to real site scenarios, so you leave able to lead safely rather than simply pass an exam.
Just as importantly, the course teaches you how to manage the paperwork and the people, not just the hazards. You look at how to plan for safety before work starts, how to monitor a site once it is under way and know when work has to stop, and how to communicate safety information to a workforce clearly so that a safe system of work becomes something that actually happens on the ground rather than something filed in the office. For managers running the kind of mixed-trade, fast-moving jobs common across Southampton and the wider Hampshire market, that ability to plan, brief and monitor is often what separates a site that runs smoothly from one that does not. A full module breakdown is set out separately on this page, so the summary above is only a guide to the ground the five days cover.
How the course runs
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive midweek days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. It is delivered live online through a Zoom video link, with a CITB-approved trainer teaching in real time. This is not a recorded or self-paced course. You are in a virtual classroom with the tutor and the other delegates, taking part in discussion, group exercises and worked examples throughout the week, exactly as you would in a physical room.
Because the course is live and interactive, you get the benefit of an experienced construction trainer answering questions as they come up and drawing on real site situations. Delegates are encouraged to bring problems from their own projects to the discussion, which is often where the most useful learning happens, as the group works through how the principles apply to the kind of work going on around Southampton and the South East. You need to attend all five days in full to complete the qualification, so it is worth blocking the week out clear of site commitments before you book.
To take part you will need a reliable internet connection and a suitable device, ideally a laptop or desktop with a webcam and a microphone or headset so you can join in properly. Tablets can work but are not recommended, as you will be reading materials and taking part in exercises throughout the day. Setting up takes only a few minutes: you click your joining link, check your audio and video, and you are ready to go. It helps to find a quiet spot where you can concentrate for the full day, whether that is a room at home, a desk in the office or a corner of the site cabin away from the noise. Digital course materials are provided for you to work from and keep, so you have a reference to draw on once you are back running your own sites.
Assessment and exam
Your knowledge is checked with an end-of-course exam made up of multiple-choice, multi-response and short written-answer questions. The exam lasts approximately 30 minutes and the pass mark is 81%. It is designed to confirm that you can apply the key principles from the week to real construction environments, not to catch you out, and the tutor spends the five days preparing you for exactly the kind of questions you will face.
To help you go in confident, we provide a free SMSTS practice test you can use as often as you like before your course. You can find it at https://www.skillstg.co.uk/smsts-mock-test/. Working through the mock test is one of the simplest ways to settle any nerves and get used to the format ahead of the real thing. Many Southampton delegates run through it a few times in the week before their course, and again in the evenings during the five days, which is a straightforward way to keep the material fresh. Our SMSTS pass rate is 98.7%, which reflects both the quality of the teaching and the value of putting the preparation in beforehand. The daily knowledge checks through the week also mean nothing in the final exam should come as a surprise, because you will have been working with the same material and the same style of question all along.
Why train online from Southampton
For a long time, booking an SMSTS meant travelling to a training centre, often out of the region, and finding somewhere to park for a week. Delivering the course live online removes all of that. There is no venue to drive to, no city-centre parking to pay for and no time lost sitting on the M27 or the M3 at rush hour. You attend from wherever suits you in Southampton, whether that is home, the office or a quiet corner of the site cabin.
It is worth being clear about one thing: we do not run a physical training centre in Southampton for this course, and the online format is a deliberate choice rather than a compromise. The live online SMSTS follows the complete CITB syllabus and leads to exactly the same officially recognised certificate as a classroom course. The only difference is how you attend. For busy managers juggling live projects across Hampshire and the Solent, being able to qualify without writing off travelling time on top of the five course days is a genuine advantage. If you are booking several managers from the same firm, the online format also means people working on different Southampton sites can all attend the same class without anyone having to travel to a single location.
Certification and 5-year validity
When you pass, you receive the official CITB Site Safety Plus SMSTS certificate. It is recognised across the UK construction industry and is a standard requirement for site management roles, so it will be accepted without question on projects throughout Southampton, Hampshire and beyond. The certificate is a national qualification, not a regional one, which matters in a trade where managers move between employers and jobs. A manager who qualifies while working in Southampton carries exactly the same recognised credential onto their next project, whether that turns out to be another Hampshire site, a job across the water in Portsmouth, or work further afield.
The SMSTS certificate is valid for five years. Before it expires, you keep it current by completing the two-day SMSTS refresher course, which updates your knowledge in line with any changes to legislation and best practice and extends your certification for a further five years. You can find full details of the refresher at https://www.skillstg.co.uk/courses/citb-smsts-refresher-course/. It is worth putting a reminder in the diary well ahead of the expiry date, as letting the certificate lapse can mean having to sit the full five-day course again.
CITB grant funding
The SMSTS is a CITB Site Safety Plus course, which means eligible employers may be able to claim a CITB grant towards the cost. If your business is registered with the CITB and pays the levy, it is well worth checking what you can claim before you book, as the grant can offset a meaningful part of the course fee. This applies whether you are putting one manager through or training several people from a Southampton-based firm. For a growing contractor taking on more responsibility across the Solent, the grant can make it far more affordable to keep a team of managers properly certificated rather than relying on a single qualified person. If you are not sure whether your business qualifies or how to make a claim, get in touch and we will point you in the right direction.
How to book
Booking your SMSTS course is straightforward. You can book online at https://booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SMSTS, where you can see the available start dates and reserve your place in a couple of minutes. If you would rather talk it through first, or you are arranging places for a group of managers, call our team on 0808 164 2780 and we will help you find the right dates. You can also see all upcoming dates and course information on the main SMSTS course page. Because these courses are in steady demand, booking ahead is the surest way to secure the week you want.
Frequently asked questions
Is the online SMSTS certificate accepted on Southampton construction sites?
Yes. The live online SMSTS leads to exactly the same nationally recognised CITB Site Safety Plus certificate as a classroom course. Principal contractors and clients across Southampton and the wider Solent region accept it as evidence that a manager holds the required health and safety competence to take overall responsibility for a site.
Do I need to travel to a training centre in Southampton?
No. There is no physical venue for this course. The SMSTS is delivered entirely live online over a Zoom video link, so you attend from home, your office or your site cabin anywhere in Southampton or across Hampshire. That means no travel, no parking and no days lost to the commute, while you still earn the same certificate.
Can I train several managers from my Southampton company at once?
Yes. Because the course runs online, managers based on different sites around Southampton and the South East can all attend the same class without travelling to one location. If you are booking for a group, call us on 0808 164 2780 and we will help you arrange dates and places to suit your workload.
How long is the SMSTS course and what are the hours?
The SMSTS runs over five consecutive days, Monday to Friday, from 8:30 to 17:00 each day. You need to attend all five days in full to complete the qualification, so it is worth setting the week aside clear of site commitments before you book.
How much does the SMSTS course cost?
The course costs £430. Eligible employers registered with the CITB may be able to claim a grant towards the cost, so it is worth checking what your business can claim before booking.
What is the difference between the SMSTS and the SSSTS?
The SMSTS is a five-day course for site managers who carry overall responsibility for a project. The SSSTS is a two-day course for site supervisors and first-line managers who oversee a team or a work area. If you manage a whole site, the SMSTS is the qualification for you; if you supervise part of one, the SSSTS is the right level.
What happens when my SMSTS certificate runs out?
The SMSTS certificate is valid for five years. Before it expires you take the two-day SMSTS refresher course, which updates your knowledge and extends your certification for another five years. If you let it lapse, you may have to sit the full five-day course again, so it is best to book the refresher in good time.
Ready to book your SMSTS course in Southampton? Reserve your place online at https://booking.skillstg.co.uk/course/SMSTS or call our team on 0808 164 2780 to talk through dates and CITB grant funding. Qualify from anywhere in Southampton, with no travel and the same nationally recognised CITB certificate.
Modules breakdown
Across the five days, your tutor works through the full CITB Site Management Safety Training Scheme syllabus, blending live teaching with group discussions, case studies and daily knowledge checks. Every module is taught with the site manager’s responsibilities in mind, covering the following key areas:
Health and safety legislation
- Health and Safety at Work Act fundamentals and their implications for construction
- Environmental legislation affecting construction sites
- Recent developments and new guidance in safety regulations
- Responsibilities under relevant legislation, and industry best practice beyond the legal minimum
Risk management
- Conducting thorough risk assessments and implementing the necessary control measures
- Ensuring safe working practices across different site activities
- Managing common safety issues on construction sites
- Creating systems for continual safety awareness
Leadership and communication
- Developing a positive safety culture on site
- Techniques for communicating safety protocols effectively
- Engaging the workforce in health and safety initiatives
- Managing subcontractors and supporting site supervisors in their safety responsibilities
Practical site management
- Day-to-day safety management techniques
- Responding to incidents and near misses
- Documentation and record-keeping requirements
- Site inspections, audits, toolbox talks and safety briefings
Special site hazards
- Working at height safety protocols
- Plant and equipment safety
- Excavation and groundworks safety
- Managing hazardous substances
- Electrical safety on construction sites
You attend all five training days, take part in the group activities and knowledge checks, then sit the final exam. On passing, you receive the official CITB SMSTS certificate, valid for five years, which you keep current with the two-day SMSTS Refresher Course before it expires. If you supervise rather than manage a site, the two-day SSSTS course may be the better fit – our team can help you choose.
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